THE boss of Sainsbury’s has been sentenced to two years in an Egyptian jail.

Sainsbury's boss Mike Coupe travelled to Egypt to try and overturn the decision

Mike Coupe, the chief executive of the supermarket giant, has been convicted of “breaching trust” in the country after Sainsbury’s tried to seize cheques from a failing business it invested in 16 years ago.

The supermarket chain lost £10million trying to crack the Egyptian market 16 years ago.

It bought an 80 per cent stake in Egyptian Distribution Group, also known as Edge, but their western products were not accepted by the African market. And 18 months later Sainsbury’s withdrew and sold the stake back.

Mr Coupe has been held responsible for the allegations as he is the most senior person in the company.

He was automatically convicted by the Egyptian courts as he failed to turn up to an earlier hearing, The Times reports. But Sainsbury’s claims it was never notified of the date.

He travelled to Giza on Sunday to try and overturn the conviction.

He now runs the risk of being arrested and imprisoned if he enters Egypt or any of its allies included in its extradition treaty.

A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s said: “We strongly refute the legal case in Egypt. This relates to an historic commercial dispute which has absolutely nothing to do with Mike.”